Today's News

Lance Storm blasts TNA decision:

"The first and obvious fact is that the 6 sided ring is stiffer. Now granted I've never worked in a 6 Sided ring but I've spoke to many who have and they say unanimously that when they switched from the hexagon to the square ring the ring was significantly softer. Creating a 6 sided ring is more mechanically challenging and constructing a floor that gives well is much easily accomplished with only 4 sides. A stiffer ring means 1 of 2 things are going to happen, the boys will either have to tone down their style taking either fewer or less dramatic bumps, or they are going to have to put up with increased damage to their bodies which will eventually lead to more injuries and potentially increased dependency on pain killers. Neither of these options are a good thing and this alone illustrates how this particular decision should not be made by people in the company who don't have to work in it. Another factor that no one seems to be aware of is that the 6 Sided ring doesn't shoot as well for television, and TNA Impact Wrestling is becoming more and more a Television wrestling company. Why doesn't is shoot well for TV you ask? Well it's quite obvious if you sit down and think about it a little. When you set the ring up for TV you need to have a clear view from the Hard Camera (the stationary camera used for most if not all distance shoots). To get the best view you have to put a flat side of the ring facing the hard camera. In a square ring you then have flat sides along the right and left side of your TV screen. This allows the majority of your running spots etc. to run side to side on your screen, which is the best angle to shoot most spots."

WWE blasted:

A former WWE employee has blasted the company on a job recruitment site...

"'Great Brand, lousy place to work!'

Pros – The good part of working at WWE is the brand! Even if you're not a Wrestling fan, you can't help but be enthusiastic about the engine that sells wrestling. The Community group does a great job humanizing the organization with their efforts with the American Cancer Society and Special Olympics. Most of the wrestlers are great people and treat everyone respectfully and appreciative of the teams that support them!

Cons – The corporate culture is horrible! The culture is one of blame and CYA. It is an organization that claims that they want process and innovation when in reality it is one that is driven by live TV/Network and can't sustain a process driven model of anything-whether it's creative, development or financial. The digital team doesn't have enough experience and depth to bring any product to life successfully -at least one that isn't fraught with defects and significant failures. The leadership team didn't care about the individuals, only that they produced and made them look good-certainly not about the team. I may have learned a lot technologically but it wasn't worth the 60 hour work weeks and lack of support and appreciation for those efforts.

Advice to Senior Management – Hire people that are open minded, not chauvinists. Hire leaders not bosses and people that are interested in getting the job done and not blaming others for mistakes-encourage some failures. If the Digital organization was run the same way that Live Events were then the teams would be much happier and productive.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company"

SmackDown SPOILERS!!!:

• AJ Lee vs Cameron...
• Adam Rose vs Fandango...
• Heath Slater & Titus O'Neill vs The Uso's.
• Chris Jericho vs Randy Orton...
• Layla vs Summer Rae...
• Goldust vs Ryback...
• Bo Dallas vs Diego & El Torito...
• Roman Reigns vs Rusev...

END OF SPOILERS!!!

Also Canadian indy great Tyson Dux wrestled Sin Cara in the pre show.

BattleGround:

Bray Wyatt vs Chris Jericho has been confirmed for the next WWE special.

AJ Lee vs Paige (Diva's) and The Uso's vs The Wyatt Family (2 out of 3 falls for the Tag Titles) have also been added. As well as Cameron vs Naomi.

Sheamus has also announced that he plans to win the Battle Royal, and would unify the IC and US titles.

Happy Birthday PC:

Today is the first anniversary of the opening of the WWE Performance Center.

WWE acknowledge AJ Styles:

WWE have featured AJ Styles brief WWE career on their YouTube channel today.

Natalya:

A prisoner in Pennsylvania recently launched a $250,000 lawsuit against WWE star Natalya. He claimed she abused him mentally and physically for four years between 2005 and 2009, aborted his child and made him prostitute himself. He demanded the money, or he would take the sordid story of their sexual encounters to the media. A judge found him to be delusional and a fantasist and threw his claims, and the case out of court.

CM Punk emerges from his hibernation:

CM Punk has agreed to co-host a music awards show with Juliet Simms on July 21. It will be first public appearance since leaving WWE, coming four days after he is free of his WWE deal.

Ric Flair:

WWE have confirmed Ric Flair will be on both Raw and SmackDown next week.

Chris Jericho:

Full details of Chris Jericho's hectic schedule for the coming months...

Fozzy dates...

July 24 – Los Angeles, CA – The Whisky* (record release show!)
August 2 – Syracuse, NY – New York State Fairgrounds*
September 13 – Janesville, WI – Southern Wisconsin Regional Airport*
September 17 – Tempe, AZ – The Marquee
September 19 – San Antonio, TX – Backstage Live
September 23 – Atlanta, GA – Center Stage
September 24 – Charlotte, NC – The Fillmore
September 26 – Columbus, OH – Newport Music Hall
September 27 – Winston-Salem, NC – Ziggy's
October 2 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live
October 3 – Knoxville, TN – The International
October 6 – Lancaster, PA – Chameleon Club
October 7 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
October 8 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
October 11 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues

WWE dates...

July 12 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden (WWE Live)
July 13 – Wildwood, NJ – Wildwoods Convention Center (WWE Live)
July 14 – Richmond, VA – The Richmond Coliseum (WWE RAW)
July 15 – Fayetteville, NC – Crown Coliseum (WWE Smackdown)
July 20 – Tampa, FL – Tampa Bay Times Front (WWE Battleground PPV)
July 26 – Edmonton, AB – Rexall Place (WWE Live)
July 27 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome
July 28 – Houston, TX – Toyota Center (WWE RAW)
July 29 – Corpus Christi, TX – American Bank Center (WWE Smackdown)
August 3 – San Antonio, TX – Freeman Coliseum (WWE Live)
August 4 – Austin, TX Frank – Erwin Center (WWE RAW)
August 5 – Laredo, TX Laredo – Energy Center (WWE Smackdown)
August 7 – Melbourne, Australia – Rod Laver Arena (WWE Live)
August 8 – Sydney, Australia – Allphones Arena (WWE Live)
August 9 – Perth, Australia – Perth Arena (WWE Live)
August 11 – Portland, OR – Moda Center (WWE RAW)
August 12 – Seattle, WA – Key Arena (WWE Smackdown)
August 16 – San Jose, CA – Sap Center (WWE Live)
August 17 – Los Angeles, CA – Staples Center (WWE Summer Slam PPV)
August 18 – Las Vegas, NV – Thomas and Mack Center (WWE RAW)
August 19 – Phoenix, AZ – US Airways Center (WWE Smackdown)
August 25 – Anaheim, CA – Honda Center (WWE RAW)
August 26 – Ontario, CA – Citizens Business Bank Arena (WWE Smackdown)
September 1 – Des Moines, IA – Wells Fargo Arena (WWE RAW)
September 2 – Lincoln, NE – TBA (WWE Live)
September 8 – Baltimore, MD – Baltimore Arena (WWE RAW)
September 9 – Wilkes Barre, PA – TBA (WWE Live)
September 15 – Lafayette, LA – Cajundome (WWE RAW)
September 21 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena (WWE Night of Champions PPV)
September 22 – Memphis, TN – FedEx Forum (WWE RAW)

Kurt Angle:

Kurt Angle has clarified his status. He will be free of TNA on September 21, and has at this stage refused to sign the contract offered by the promotion, as he plans to make his next contract his last, and wants to weigh up all his options. He also confirmed he will be back in action in October.

Retirement:

Shannon Moore says he is coming to the end of his career...

"For u asking I'm pretty much done in the ring. Just times have changed and I don't want to be that guy trying to Stay on Indy's I've lived it and I would rather get out and be an agent or work with talent.Thanks WCW,WWE,and TNA!!! Looking for the next thing.And want to move to Chicago and be with my wife's amazing family!! Thanks to all that have supported me over the last 20 plus years. Much love to fans. Keep supporting the guys... Because family's depend on that support!!!Thank You So Much for making a dream come true."